Plenty of pet-friendly hotel options available in Myrtle Beach

Does it break your heart to go on vacation and leave a family member behind, even if that family member has four legs?

Do you feel guilty staying in that 4-star, luxury oceanfront resort, while pooch pouts back home with family or a crowded, ordinary kennel?

Well, relax, because there are a plethora of places that accept man’s best friend in the Myrtle Beach area.

The Grand Strand has plenty of pet-friendly hotels, motels and properties, as well as a host of boarding facilities that have amenities rivaling those accommodations for the 2-legged family.

Well, as far as Fido is concerned, anyway.

If you visit in the offseason you can also let your dogs enjoy a walk on the beach, as pets are allowed in the sand from Labor Day until May 1 in most areas.

So check out just a few of the boarding options below, and visit our pet-friendly section for all of the hotels, campgrounds and other boarding places in the Myrtle Beach area.

Dog rules on the Grand Strand

• Myrtle Beach: From May 1 through Labor Day, dogs are allowed on the beach only before 10 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m.  From the day after Labor Day to April 30 each year, dogs are allowed on the beach at any time of day.  Dogs must be on a leash that’s seven feet or shorter, and you must pick up and properly dispose of the droppings.
• North Myrtle Beach: Dogs in public must be on a leash at all times. No dogs are allowed on the beach from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 15-Sept. 15.
• Surfside Beach: Dogs are not allowed on the beach at all from May 15 to Sept. 15.
• Pawleys Island: Dogs are allowed on the beach, but must be on a leash.

This story was originally published April 16, 2014 at 4:04 AM.